This is a video we took of the drive to the Mission in Tuis. Somewhere around the 1:20 mark it points toward the "Smith House", which is where we are staying.
Very nice! Gorgeous view....sigh, I wish i was in CR again! Do you guys have a car or do you usually take the bus? Do you go grocery shopping on your own or with other women? It seems like for a small town there are 'easily' accessibly amenities, like an internet cafe, and a few grocery stores!
Tiffany: It was definitely hutty in the villages in Chirripo. Around here though, poverty isn't an issue. Unemployment definitely is though.
JAT: No, we don't have a car. Few people own cars here. We walk or take the bus, which is relatively cheap.
We do our own grocery shopping, and I go with Tom... Which may have something to do with walking or taking all the food on the bus :P When we do huge grocery runs, at times we need to take a taxi home. They are decently priced as well. There is a 'Gringo' store in Turriabla, about 45 mins away, that helps with many of our Northerner American fixes, but we have yet to find decent cheese in this country. Or chocolate. (Side note: Send cheese and chocolate!!!!)
As for internet: there are 5 lines running in to Tuis... And the house we are staying in owns 1 of them. Which allows me to keep my sanity. And blog.
As for grocery stores: There are a few, but most are full of bugs and stuff. Or some won't give you a receipt (the store, not the bugs), which can be a downer, which is why we often head to Gringo's 'R Us.
ok....doing laundry...handwash and hang i gather? going to the bathroom? (TP or not?) what kinds of stuff are you eating there? (gallo pinto is good...but not for more than a few days straight!!!), what else have you learned to make? do you have frequent power outages? how about water?
Laundry: We have a machine thingy for washing the clothes. A bit complicated, but it does the trick. We have a 'normal' drier... Most people just use the lines, and I would too, but that means having to be home and having to remember to take them back in *before* the monsoon rains.
The Bathroom: We have a house with full electricity, running water, etc. {Side Note: We're not in the sticks without amenities, although some people believe we are... I'm not sure why, considering we post blogs on the internet from home :P } We do use (cheap, flaky) TP, but can't flush it. The system in Costa Rica just can't take it. So the used tissue goes in a cute little garbage can beside the toilet. Yucky? YES!
Eating: We eat a lot of beans and rice. It's a cultural thing... And definitely the cheapest (Other bonus: it's dried, so the bugs aren't attracted to it and you won't have an infestation come morning if the bag is left open a crack.) We make pasta and stir-fries. There are lots of fresh fruits and vegetables here. Decent cheese can't be found (*in the entire country*) and the milk tastes terrible. Decent chocolate is also lacking (in the entire country), which is a shame considering they grow it here.
Power has been fantastically consistent... However our house is a little odd in the sense that you can't have both the hot water in the shower and the clothes drier going at the same time. Water is consistent too. And there is A LOT OF IT. Cheap, fresh, clean, and *COLD*. We have a device on our shower water line that heats the water. I've thanked God many, mnany times for that little contraption.
8 comments:
It's so fast!
Not sure what I expected really. I think I thought it would be more like the little huts and stuff that you see on world vision!
Very nice! Gorgeous view....sigh, I wish i was in CR again! Do you guys have a car or do you usually take the bus? Do you go grocery shopping on your own or with other women? It seems like for a small town there are 'easily' accessibly amenities, like an internet cafe, and a few grocery stores!
Tiffany:
It was definitely hutty in the villages in Chirripo. Around here though, poverty isn't an issue. Unemployment definitely is though.
JAT:
No, we don't have a car. Few people own cars here. We walk or take the bus, which is relatively cheap.
We do our own grocery shopping, and I go with Tom... Which may have something to do with walking or taking all the food on the bus :P When we do huge grocery runs, at times we need to take a taxi home. They are decently priced as well. There is a 'Gringo' store in Turriabla, about 45 mins away, that helps with many of our Northerner American fixes, but we have yet to find decent cheese in this country. Or chocolate.
(Side note: Send cheese and chocolate!!!!)
As for internet: there are 5 lines running in to Tuis... And the house we are staying in owns 1 of them. Which allows me to keep my sanity. And blog.
As for grocery stores: There are a few, but most are full of bugs and stuff. Or some won't give you a receipt (the store, not the bugs), which can be a downer, which is why we often head to Gringo's 'R Us.
Any other questions??? This is fun!!!
ok....doing laundry...handwash and hang i gather? going to the bathroom? (TP or not?) what kinds of stuff are you eating there? (gallo pinto is good...but not for more than a few days straight!!!), what else have you learned to make? do you have frequent power outages? how about water?
lots of questions! sorry!
Okay!
Laundry:
We have a machine thingy for washing the clothes. A bit complicated, but it does the trick. We have a 'normal' drier... Most people just use the lines, and I would too, but that means having to be home and having to remember to take them back in *before* the monsoon rains.
The Bathroom:
We have a house with full electricity, running water, etc. {Side Note: We're not in the sticks without amenities, although some people believe we are... I'm not sure why, considering we post blogs on the internet from home :P } We do use (cheap, flaky) TP, but can't flush it. The system in Costa Rica just can't take it. So the used tissue goes in a cute little garbage can beside the toilet. Yucky? YES!
Eating:
We eat a lot of beans and rice. It's a cultural thing... And definitely the cheapest (Other bonus: it's dried, so the bugs aren't attracted to it and you won't have an infestation come morning if the bag is left open a crack.) We make pasta and stir-fries. There are lots of fresh fruits and vegetables here. Decent cheese can't be found (*in the entire country*) and the milk tastes terrible. Decent chocolate is also lacking (in the entire country), which is a shame considering they grow it here.
Power has been fantastically consistent... However our house is a little odd in the sense that you can't have both the hot water in the shower and the clothes drier going at the same time. Water is consistent too. And there is A LOT OF IT. Cheap, fresh, clean, and *COLD*. We have a device on our shower water line that heats the water. I've thanked God many, mnany times for that little contraption.
thanks C! Have fun on your panamanian jaunt!
This video is a blast. It takes me right back to C.R. Hope you had a good trip to and back from Panama.
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